Dear Democracy Now! visitor,

You turn to Democracy Now! for ad-free news you can trust. Maybe you come for our daily headlines. Maybe you come for in-depth stories that expose government and corporate abuses of power. Democracy Now! brings you reporting about the issues you care about the most, like war and peace, immigrant and civil rights, healthcare and the environment. Democracy Now! is always free—you'll never hit a paywall. And we produce our daily news hour at a fraction of the budget of a commercial news operation, all without ads, government funding or corporate underwriting. How is this possible? Only with your support. Right now, a generous donor will double every donation, meaning your gift today will go twice as far. Pretty amazing, right? It just takes a few minutes to donate and make sure Democracy Now! is there for you and everyone else in 2018.

Dear Democracy Now! visitor,

You turn to Democracy Now! for ad-free news you can trust. Maybe you come for our daily headlines. Maybe you come for in-depth stories that expose government and corporate abuses of power. Democracy Now! is different because we don't accept government or advertising dollars—we count on you, our global audience, to fund our work.Right now, all donations to Democracy Now! will be doubled by a generous donor. Pretty amazing, right? It just takes a few minutes to make sure Democracy Now! is there for you and everyone else in 2018.

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Media Options

The National Park Service says it will begin enforcing a ban today on Occupy protesters camping overnight in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, two parks near the White House where they have been living since October. Members of the Occupy encampment say they will resist eviction. “We are going to do our best to make sure that they’re protected from what is effectively a criminalization of poverty and a criminalization of homelessness. By choosing to evict the people who have no place else to sleep, they’re effectively criminalizing those among us who are disenfranchised,” says Justin Jacoby Smith, a member of the Occupy D.C. media team, who joins us live from McPherson Square. [includes rush transcript]

Guests

Links

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMYGOODMAN: There is also news that the Occupy protests in Washington, D.C., are about to be raided. The National Park Service has said it will begin enforcing a ban today on Occupy protesters camping overnight in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, two parks near the White House where people have been living since October. We’re joined on the phone, as well, from McPherson Square by Justin Jacoby Smith, a member of the Occupy D.C. media team.

Justin, what’s happening right now?

JUSTINJACOBYSMITH: Hi, Amy.

Well, at the moment, we are very slowly moving a number of our tents and other items into the center of the park. And the reason we’re doing that is to make sure that the people that are at the center of our movement, the people that have been disenfranchised by the 1 percent and their greed and their purges of our democracy—we are going to do our best to make sure that they’re protected from what is effectively a criminalization of poverty and a criminalization of homelessness. By choosing to evict the people who have no place else to sleep, they’re effectively criminalizing those among us who are disenfranchised. And that’s something that we’ll stand against.

AMYGOODMAN: Occupy D.C. has been one of the few places that’s in two separate squares, that have not been raided by the police, have not been ended. What has been your strategy, and what exactly will be your strategy now?

JUSTINJACOBYSMITH: Well, we have had the benefit thus far of being on federal parkland, which means that rather than having to deal with the particular Metropolitan Police Department, we are under the jurisdiction of the federal Park Police, who essentially understand that our First Amendment rights, generally speaking, trump the demands of someone like Darrell Issa, who really works hard to—who has worked hard to politicize our ongoing encampment in a way that reflects well on him, of course, the richest member of Congress, as opposed to the fact that we’re out here struggling against exactly everything that he represents. And so, thankfully, on federal parkland, we have the benefit of having a cooperative and understanding and First Amendment-supporting police force, for the most part, despite occasional stubbles and occasional moments of struggle.

AMYGOODMAN: Justin Jacoby Smith, I want to thank you very much for being with us, member of the Occupy D.C. media team. And I also want to thank Maria Lewis, participant in Occupy Oakland, an undergraduate at University of California, Berkeley. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. Of course, we’ll continue to follow the Occupy movement in Berkeley and Oakland, in D.C. and all over the country. But when we come back, we’re going to Syria. Stay with us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

independent global news

Democracy Now! is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Please do your part today.

Get Email Updates

News

Democracy Now!

Editions

Follow

Get Email Updates

Democracy Now! is a 501(c)3 non-profit news organization. We do not accept funding from advertising, underwriting or government agencies. We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work. Please do your part today.